HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - No one had scored more than 10 goals on the men's lacrosse team all year.
Not Georgetown's offense, third-best in the nation, which posted its only single-digit output of the season March 27 in a 10-8 loss to Duke, the Blue Devils' 12th win in as many meetings against the Hoyas.
But in the two schools' first-ever postseason matchup, the fifth-seeded Hoyas (13-2) disregarded history and made some of their own, knocking off fourth-seeded Duke 17-14 Saturday at Hofstra Stadium for their first trip to the Final Four.
"Giving up 17 goals is amazing to me," said coach Mike Pressler after his Blue Devils and their second-ranked scoring defense were denied their second semifinal appearance in three years. "I didn't think there was a team in the country that could score 17 goals on us."
Georgetown ran off five unanswered goals in less than eight minutes in the fourth quarter to build an insurmountable 17-10 lead with 4:15 to play. The Hoyas' high-scoring trio of Greg McCavera, Scott Urick and Andy Flick, who managed only three tallies between them against Duke in March, had a goal apiece in the spurt and totaled nine for the afternoon.
That wasn't the only difference between the two games. The Blue Devils dominated in faceoffs the first time around, capturing 15-of-22 to boost their nation's-best percentage. But Georgetown won that category Saturday, 18-16, and converted both of its extra-man opportunities after going 1-for-8 two months earlier.
"There was no magic for us today," Pressler said. "They whipped us in every phase of the game. Georgetown whipped Duke today, and they did it in the things we take pride in."
That reversal of roles allowed the Hoyas to score eight times in the first half, equaling their output for the entire game in March. And yet Georgetown only led by one at the break.
"We were lucky to be at 8-7," Pressler said. "They had a lot of opportunities."
Pressler still had reason to feel fortunate early in the fourth quarter when Nick Hartofilis scored to pull Duke within two at 12-10. The coach knew his team had rallied from larger deficits in shorter periods of time.
But the comeback never happened.
Instead, the Hoyas raced back down the field and McCavera found Urick for a goal and a 13-10 lead a mere 14 seconds after Hartofilis' score. Over the next minute, the Blue Devils' John O'Donnell and Adam Dretler were each called for illegal body checks. Georgetown needed only 11 seconds of the two-man advantage to open up a four-goal lead, as Mike Henehan found the back of the net.
The Hoyas added three more scores to complete the 5-0 run and then celebrated their all-expenses-paid trip to College Park, Md., this weekend.
"We made some mistakes defensively," Pressler said, "and Georgetown was too good today not to take advantage."
Duke actually outshot Georgetown 46-40 for the game, but the Hoyas made the most of their opportunities, scoring goals in bunches. After Jared Frood put the Blue Devils up 1-0 to open the scoring, Georgetown notched four straight goals to kick off what would be a tough day for goalkeeper Matt Breslin.
"They stuck in a couple early I thought I should have had," the sophomore said, "and it was downhill from there."
Duke responded with a 3-0 spurt of its own to tie the score early in the second quarter, and the two teams traded goals for the rest of the half.
McCavera, who set Georgetown's single-season scoring record with the goal that put his team up seven, credited the improved play of midfielders Tyler Gamble and Henehan with sparking the recent run by preventing opponents from focusing solely on the Hoyas' three star attackmen. Henehan and Gamble tallied three goals apiece Saturday as Georgetown solved Duke's defense and captured the biggest win in Hoyas lacrosse history.
"When two good teams get together twice in a season, it's hard to beat a team twice," said Hoya goalie Brian Hole. "I'm just glad we didn't win in the regular season."
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